10 Actors Who Confirmed They Were Almost Batman
5. Eion Bailey - Batman Begins
Christian Bale was the lucky chap who ended up playing Batman in Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight trilogy, but he didn't secure the role without enduring a bit of friendly competition. In fact, at the same time that Nolan was screen-testing Bale, he was also doing the same with other actors.
One of these was Eion Bailey, who most people will recognise from his role in 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers. Bailey came surprisingly close to landing the part, and got so far into the casting process that he actually got to wear the cape and cowl while auditioning for the filmmakers.
Footage from this audition even made its way online, and upon watching Bailey's performance, it's clear that he wasn't the man for the job. His Bruce Wayne was decent but his Batman was quite underwhelming, and it's hard to picture him pulling off Bale's fierce take on the character.
Still, Bailey has a claim to fame that few will ever achieve: he got to wear an official Batsuit. Can't really complain about that.